Cassidy Elected to West Virginia Humanities Council

The West Virginia Humanities Council elected three new members to its board of directors at its spring board meeting on April 20 in Lewisburg. The council also elected new officers.

New members include Patrick Cassidy of Wheeling, a member of the law firm Cassidy, Cogan, Shapell & Vogelin. A graduate of Wheeling College and the Columbus School of Law at Catholic University, Cassidy taught civil rights and employment law at Wheeling Jesuit University. He and his wife Mary Ellen Cassidy founded the Wheeling Academy of Law and Science Foundation, a non-profit corporation established to promote educational programming and consulting in the area of education, employment, energy and the environment.

Also elected to the Humanities Council board were Margaret Mary Layne and Patricia Proctor, both of Huntington.

Layne is the CEO of Layne Consulting, a company she founded after serving as the executive director and director of development for the Huntington Museum of Art. An avid supporter of the arts in West Virginia, Layne has served or currently serves on numerous boards in her native Cabell County and in several statewide positions.

Proctor is the founding director of the Simon Perry Center for Constitutional Democracy at Marshall University through which she created a centralized pre-law advisory function for students who wish to attend law school. Proctor was formerly a member of the law firm Steptoe and Johnson and has been recognized by her peers in Best Lawyers in America.

The Humanities Council thanked departing board members Kay Goodwin of Charleston and Dolores Yoke of Clarksburg for their time as dedicated members of the board.

Charlie Delauder of Middlebourne, Elliot Hicks and Billy Joe Peyton of Charleston, and Tim Sweet of Morgantown were elected to second terms on the board of directors. The Humanities Council also elected Charlie Delauder of Middlebourne as president; Billy Joe Peyton of Charleston as vice president; Elliot Hicks of Charleston as treasurer; and Megan Tarbett of Charleston as secretary.

Founded in 1974, the West Virginia Humanities Council is a nonprofit organization serving West Virginia through grants and direct programs in the humanities. The council’s board of directors is composed of 24 citizens from across the state. The board meets three times per year, throughout the state. Members are elected to a three-year term and may be elected to one additional three-year term. For more information, visit the council’s website at www.wvhumanities.org or call 304-346-8500.Ca